We Are Planters

Are we planting a seed of sin?

Galatians 5:19-24

In these verses it explains about 13 different sins, just to name a few that will result in us not inheriting the kingdom of God. 

I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:21 NIV)

Sexual impurity is the one I'm going to focus on though. It's something our society is so obsessed with. Everywhere you look or everything you hear in some way relates to sex. So how should we, as followers of Christ avoid those temptations living in this secular world. 

This was something I struggled with for a couple of years. Although I always went to church as a child and grew up in the church, it was a struggle. I went to school where that was all people talked about. It was like if you weren't doing it you weren't 'cool'. I wouldn't say I was tempted but I just fell into it on my own. 

I planted the seed of sin (sexually impurity) and I watched it grow and grow and grow. It's what happens when you plant a seed; it starts to grow and there is no stopping it unless you get rid of it. 

Eventually I fell so deep into this sin that I started to fall away from God. I still read every night and I felt so guilty while in the act but I still did it anyway. I knew I was doing wrong and it would lead me to Hell. It's just so hard to explain why I kept doing something that was leading me to unending suffering. I was hard headed. 

As for you, there is a way out. Charles Stanley's daily devotion talks about planting a seed and what do you expect to happen. If you plant an apple seed you don't expect a banana tree to grow. You expect an apple tree to grow. So if you plant a seed of sin what do you expect to happen? 

When we engage in sin we might not see it, especially if someone isn't a Christian, we see it as just 'having a good time.' 

Sexually impurity is a huge test for Christians to show if we are truly following Christ. It's more than putting in our best effort but it takes the cleansing work of God. We can't do it alone. It would be way too hard. 

Clearly single people should also practice  sexual purity. 

"To the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried . . . But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion [engage in immoral behavior]" (1 Cor. 7:8,9).

In that passage Paul talks about staying pure and if you can not do so you should marry. Of course that is not the only reason people get married. I honestly think if a couple is going to get married just for that reason, that's a terrible reason to get married. What he is stating is having sex out of marriage is forbidden (a sin). Therefore you're better off getting married than sinning through sexual impurities. 

Sex outside of marriage can ruin the relationship; lessens the chances of a committed marriage. 

I was just talking to a friend yesterday about how her relationship was going and she brought up how she is so much more confident about it now. She is able to just sit at her boyfriend's house and make him dinner or just watch TV. They are building a relationship by getting to know each other better. That's what a relationship before marriage should be about; getting to know each other. That marriage will then lead to a stronger Christian based marriage that God can continue to bless. 

You don't need sex to have a successful relationship. It might 'feel right' but all you are doing is sinning which will lead to eternity away from the kingdom of God. What we reap we will sow. We will suffer the consequences of our sin, our intentional sin. 

We are planting the seeds of sin. The only way to stop the growth of that sin is to remove it. Remove it from your life!

I was caught up in that sin and I realized where I was leading myself. Eventually when I got my self into a situation I never thought I would, that's was when I turned to Jesus more. I was setting myself up for the ultimate failure. But God caught me! 'Only God can turn an act of sin into a sweet, sweet blessing.' Which He did and He turned my life around! 

Lastly, Charles Stanley said, "Ask yourself; 'Am I planting seeds of the flesh or seeds of the Spirit? Do I want to reap the consequences of sin, or do I want to harvest the spiritual fruit?'